The Many Reasons to Avoid Attention
by Anisky
Summary: When Sarah practices magic and it starts WORKING of all things, she mostly just thinks that it's cool. But there's a huge magical realm Underground, and Jareth isn't the only one who keeps tabs on humans. (Note: There WILL BE JS interaction)


Title: The Many Reasons to Avoid Attention (1/?)

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sarah is away at college, and a practicing witch. When her magic starts actually working, though, she has to worry about more than just grades. Why is it working for her, but nobody else? What happens when her powers get the attention of certain magical beings that want to use her remarkable talent for their own purposes? Why is it a bad idea to take "practical" advice from wacky art majors with a history of trouble? Sarah has a whole lot of questions, and is on a quest for even more answers! And we all know what happens when Sarah's on a quest…

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it! 

Author's Note: Yeah, this is based on the college that I attend. So far as I know, the name that I made up for this college is fictional, so no such college exists. I'm sorry if you see any similarities, anyone who goes to college with me. :P Um, and if you know about colleges it's pretty easy to figure out what this one is-- it's the only one of its kind in America. OK, well, read on!

Chapter 1

Sarah groaned as her alarm clock went off. It made this horrible, grating sound that made anyone who heard it wince. Unfortunately, it was the only think that would actually wake her up at 8:15 AM to get to her Calculus class. She reached up and quickly turned it off. Her room mate also had a 9 AM class, Psychology, but she preferred to wake up a few minutes before class to her special "visual alarm clock." It was some weird thing that shone light in your face so you wake up gently. 

She rolled out of bed, deftly landing on her feet and straightening. She looked at the two sides of the room and smirked once again at the difference between the two decorating styles. Her own side had pictures of faeries, dragons, and various performances that she'd been in, while Jaime's side of the room featured various indie rock bands and strange examples of "modern art." Sarah pulled on a blouse and a long flowing skirt, then pulled on a pair of sweat pants under the skirt and a pair of jeans over _those_. She then donned a sweat shirt and a heavy winter coat on top of that, finishing it off with snow boots. It was February, and the Berkshires were _freezing_. 

She brushed her hair quickly and made her way to the door. There was no need to bother with makeup, and she wanted to have some time to enjoy breakfast for once. 

Sarah Williams was sixteen years old, soon to be seventeen, and she was attending Barriton College on a full two-year scholarship. She couldn't take her family anymore and had to get out. After her trip through the Labyrinth, she'd felt so restless and couldn't stand high school. That didn't stop her from doing wonderfully in her classes, though, and she'd easily gotten accepted to the early college that her favorite Acting teacher had discovered for her. 

She trudged through the snow, though the trek from Nesary Hall to the dining hall was blessedly short. She entered the building and slid her ID card through the computer. She grabbed a bagel, bacon, and hot chocolate, then looked around the cafeteria for her friends. Not seeing them, she shrugged and slid into a seat by herself, knowing they'd probably show up soon. 

Sure enough, her friends Brad and Nicole soon joined her at the table, and they amicably exchanged "Good Morning"s before tearing into their food. 

"Did you do number seventeen in the homework?" Sarah asked her friend in between sips of hot chocolate. 

"No, I thought we'd ask in class," Nicole answered with a shrug. She was a very small girl, almost startlingly skinny, with mannerisms halfway between that of a bird and a deer. She was also sardonic and had brown hair even longer than Sarah's-- which was truly saying something. 

Sarah checked her watch. "Come on, we need to get to class," she said. "We only have ten minutes." 

It was harder getting to the classrooms when there was snow on the ground-- which there most certainly was. Normally Sarah and Nicole cut through the yard behind Morley, the boys' dorm, but with the snow that was impossible so they had to stay to the paved paths, which always an annoyingly out-of-the-way route from the dining hall. 

"So, I can feel my brain cells literally dying as I ask this, but I'm dying of curiosity," Nicole said casually. Sarah looked up, questioningly, and her friend sighed and rolled her eyes. "What happened with Geoff last night?!"

"Oh," Sarah giggled. "That. Well, I dunno."

Nicole just shook her head as they entered one of the classroom buildings and they headed to Calculus class. "Well, do you like him?"

"He's the _only_ good-looking single guy here," Sarah pointed out to her friend. 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you like him," Nicole pointed back as they took seats next to each other in the middle row. Sarah leaned over and tapped her friend Jessica on the back of the head. 

"Ow!" cried Jessica, turning around and frowning at Sarah. "That wasn't nice!"

"Sorry," murmured Sarah as she slid into the seat. The professor came in, and she scrambled for her notebook, regretting once again her decision to take a second semester of Calculus. All she'd needed for the math requirement was the first class, but her friends managed to convince her to continue with math somehow. _It's not too late to drop, _Sarah reminded herself. But Sarah was too prideful to do something like that. 

Her next class after Calculus was a Shakespeare class. It was in the same building, so Sarah waited outside the rooms talking to Jessica and Abby. Nicole had to rush to some Physics class in the Desher Science building. 

"So?" screeched Jessica, who was much less reserved about this kind of thing than Nicole. "What happened with Geoff last night?"

"Everyone knows about that, don't they?" asked Sarah, annoyed. "Jeez, all that happened is that we danced together!"

"Then left together," pointed out Jessica. 

"You're just jealous because you wanted to get to him first," teased Sarah. Jessica was known for her way with guys. She had a neat little list in her room, Sarah knew, and went after each guy until they really liked her. Or at least spent the night with her. Sarah wasn't quite sure what the criteria was for crossing someone off the list, but it nearly always happened. 

Abby inspected her fingernails as the two other girls talked. This dating thing was really nothing to do with her. 

"Yeah, well, he's a JA and a total hottie! I can't believe you have a chance with him!" Jessica squealed. "So? What happened when you left?"

"Oh, gee, I'm that ugly that you're amazed I'm with him, right?" asked Sarah, drolly but also good-naturedly. All she earned was yet another squeal from Jessica. 

"So you _are _together!"

"Well, no," faltered Sarah, trying to explain when the doors opened and a cold blast hit her face. The three girls turned, and saw none other than Geoff entering the building. 

"Hey," he said, looking at Sarah, throwing all of them a winning smile. 

Abby and Jessica winked and waved to Sarah, then turned and went out the door themselves, presumably headed back to the dorm building. 

"What's up with them?" Geoff asked, looking back to the two retreating girls. 

"Oh, they were trying to grill me about what happened last night," Sarah smirked at Geoff as they entered the classroom for the Shakespeare class together. "It seems everyone knows about it."

"Not that many people were even at the dance," frowned Geoff. Then he shrugged. "Oh well. What did you tell them?" They sat down next to each other, and slid his arm around her shoulder. 

Sarah blushed and looked over at Geoff, snuggling against his arm. "I was annoyingly coy," she admitted. "It'll drive them crazy. Oh, and about not many people being at the dance… this is Barriton. Everyone knows everyone about everything. Sorry. You'll get used to it." She grinned and pecked his cheek, looking around at the rest of the class. The professor, Jack, was always right on time for class. Sure enough, Sarah looked at her clock, it turned to 10:00, and he stepped into the room. 

"Hello class, the assignment for today was to read Taming of the Shrew, so please take out your text so that we can discuss it. There will be a paper on this play, so it might be a good idea to participate in the conversation, eh?" Jack raised his eyebrows and looked sternly at the class, and Geoff nervously removed his arm from Sarah's shoulders. 

Things had been going pretty well for Sarah Williams this year. Things had been a little rocky when she first got to college-- when isn't it?-- but she went back after January Intercession convinced that things would go her way, and so far, they had. She strengthened her friendship with those who had started to drift, and had even met Geoff, who seemed to really like her. 

Last night, when they left the dance-- this is what all her friends had wanted to know--they'd actually walked up the street past the Mods and up to the new Arts building, still in construction. A lot of the progress had halted during the winter, and they walked over the frozen mud into the creepy, empty, half-constructed building to walk around. 

Sarah had explored it before with one of her best friends Hilary, but as a January Admit Geoff had never been through the construction site before. They looked around for a ladder, since there weren't any stairs build yet, and were lucky enough to find some right under the stage. 

"Feeling brave?" whispered Geoff as he headed up the ladder to the catwalk above the new stage.

"Of course!" grinned Sarah, trying to appear more confident than she felt as she made her way up the wobbly ladder. _Workmen twice my size go up and down this every day, _she told herself. Even so, she grabbed at the floor above her as soon as it was within reach. 

"Wow," whispered Geoff, looking out over the still-half-done stage and audience seating. He climbed the next ladder up to the catwalk above it all and began to walk along it, looking down and smiling, then beckoning to Sarah, who had to take a deep breath to steady her nerves before continuing. 

And that's what she'd done last night. Not exactly the romantic escapade-- though once they were up on the catwalk, they sat down and talked together for hours, their words bouncing off the empty walls of the huge room. Then, when they stood up to go, he'd kissed her. 

So that was a little romantic, Sarah supposed, though not the sort of romance she liked to think about and read about in books and plays. 

But it was also creepy. Not because Geoff was creepy; on the contrary, he was one of the few guys at Barriton who seemed… well, he was comparatively normal, anyway. Maybe the correct term would be "lacking in any obvious emotional disturbances." It doesn't sound like much, but for Barriton, it positively unheard-of. 

So, it wasn't creepy because of Geoff. It was creepy because of something that only Hilary would really understand. She couldn't tell any of her other friends, they'd just laugh it away. His being interested in her was the most recent in a string of events in which Sarah got exactly what she wanted. 

Not only what she wanted…not just what she wished for…but what she did a spell to get. 

Sarah desperately needed some alone time with Hilary. She needed to figure out what to do before she went out to the movies with Geoff. Well, go to the Lecture Hall and watch the movie that they were showing, anyway. 

She needed to figure out if it was immoral to be with Geoff, for one thing. 

***

"Okay, let's recap everything, okay Sarah honey?" Hilary paced back and forth through her dorm room. There wasn't every far to pace. Hilary was lucky enough to have obtained a single-- read, a closet. There was scarcely enough room for the bed, let along anything else. "I mean, this might just be our imaginations, right?"

Sarah nodded. "Okay. Um. Well, it started a few months ago, right?"

"So far as you've told me." Hilary stopped pacing to sit on the bed next to Sarah. She fiddled with her nails.

"Hey, it's me who's supposed to be all nervous, not you," Sarah pointed out with a giggle. "This is going on with _me_."

"Yeah, but you're the nice easy-going Lit major, remember? I get to be the crazy, hyped-up-on-caffeine art major. It's my job to pace and get all nervous and bite my nails to a pulp." It was true. Hilary was the picture of the cliché art major. Her room was messy, all over were pictures she'd sketched, painted, photographs she'd taken and developed and done crazy things to. She dressed in tie-dye, personally designed and altered clothing, and was never without a black beret or her artsy black-rimmed glasses. 

"Your nails in a pulp?" Sarah looked doubtfully at Hilary's long, neatly polished nails. "Do nails become pulp?"

"You're missing the point!" Hilary dramatically grabbed her hair and yanked at it and looked up at the ceiling. 

"Cool it, I'm the actress, not you," pointed out Sarah. "Alright, so first I wished, well, did a spell to find my Calculus book I lost, right?" Hilary nodded. "So I found one, then a month later it turned out that Pat had borrowed it and never given it back. We couldn't account where the other one came from, and nobody had lost one." Sarah paused a moment and grinned at Hilary. "I sold it back for like $40 at the sell backs." 

Hilary rolled her eyes. "Ok, yeah, and that was weird. Anything else?"

"Well, Amelia was having nightmares every night, right? And I did the spell without telling her to take away the nightmares? And then she didn't have anymore and told me that she had the weirdest feeling that I was watching over her in her sleep, but I hadn't told her. And she got all upset and was telling me that she really _didn't_ have a crush on me or anything and didn't hit on straight girls…" Sarah giggled. 

"She's so uptight about that," Hilary agreed. "I don't get it. Especially here, nobody cares if someone gay hits on you." 

Sarah shrugged and laid back on her best friend's bed, trying to think of what else she remembered of the spells she'd done. "There were a few for good grades, but it's hard to know whether or not those worked or I just did well," she said. "There was the one when you were sick, and that cleared up right away, but then, could just be coincidence. Amelia's rash, but again, could be coincidence. Then the thing with Geoff… which, I suppose, again, could be coincidence. But all of it together is kind of suspicious and, well…"

"Creepy," agreed Hilary, grabbing a pencil and chewing on the eraser. "So you've said. "Well, only one thing to do, really,"

Sarah looked worried. She knew what usually came of Hilary's plans: No good. Like her plan to take a bus to New York City without their parents' knowledge and stay the night. Except that the Youth Hostel didn't accept anyone alone under eighteen, so they had to stay up in clubs all night. But that was another story. "Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"You'll have to, you know, do a spell for something that wouldn't just happen. So we know for sure." Hilary grinned triumphantly. 

Sarah considered…it was a pretty good idea, actually. She grinned back. "Well, I was thinking of doing a spell to help me get up in the morning without horrible metal sounds giving me a headache…"

Hilary waved her hand away, standing up and twirling to face Sarah, pulling her black-with-dyed-purple-and-red-streaks hair in front of her face to add to the drama. "That," she said with a pregnant pause in an incredibly odd place, "could still be a coincidence, still, if it works. Or you grew out of it, whatever. No, we need something," she inserted another mysterious pause here, just for the hell of it probably, "that _really _wouldn't happen. Like… like telekinesis or something." 

"But maybe this sort of thing only works on things that could actually happen, not go against the laws of nature," Sarah pointed out. 

Hilary huffed and let her hair fall back into place. "Well, yeah, so this will only tell us if it _is_ real. If it doesn't work, then we still don't know." 

Sarah was about to answer when the bell tower chimed four times. She looked down at her watch; it was six minutes before eight. The Barriton Bell Tower had a rather odd ringing schedule. It rang four, five, or six times. It was generally five or six minutes before or after the actual time-- it alternated-- though it liked to ring a lot at eleven o'clock, for some reason. It was fairly impossible to predict and generally was a signal that it was somewhere around the turn of the hour. 

"Oh good, it was early this time," Sarah said, standing up and pulling on her coat. "I'd forgotten the time. I need to go on my date with Geoff, okay? Um, it's not immoral to go out with him if this is real, is it? Don't answer that, we'll talk about it tomorrow okay?" She grabbed her purse as Hilary answered.

"We'll decide at breakfast when we'll get together and do the spell. You get the materials and all together, okay? It's really cold out so maybe we could do it inside. Okay, BYE SARAH," Hilary called that last bit out the door as Sarah hurried out of her corner room, through the hall, and down the staircase, calling her affirmation back. 


End file.
